About
| Birth Name: | Alan William Parker |
| Birth Notes: | 14 February 1944, Islington, London, England, UK |
| Family: | * 'Annie Inglis' (1966 - 1992) (divorced); 4 children * Lisa Moran (199? - present) |
| Biography: | Prior to moving into film, Alan was noted as one of London's most talented advertising copywriters. He worked for the Collet Dickinson Pearce (CDP) ad agency in the 1960's and early 1970's, and began directing his own tvc scripts in their basement. Formed a partnership with David Puttnam as his producer (Puttnam had been a photographers' agent), and left CDP to become a full time director of commercials before moving onto features. |
Filmography
| Angela's Ashes (1999) as Dr. Campbell |
| Evita (1996) as Tormented Film Director |
| The Commitments (1991) as Eejit Record Producer |
| The Life of David Gale (2003) as Partygoer |
| Angel Heart (1987) |
| Angela's Ashes (1999) |
| Come See the Paradise (1990) |
| Evita (1996) |
| Fame (1980) |
| Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) |
| The Commitments (1991) |
| The Life of David Gale (2003) |
| 100 Films and a Funeral (2007) as Himself |
| Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010) as Himself |
| Freedom2speak v2.0 (2004) as Himself - Director, Great Britain |
| Midnight Express (1978) as Long-Haired Man at Airport |
| On Location with: FAME (1980) as Himself - Director |
| Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) as Himself |
| Birdy (1984) |
| Bugsy Malone (1976) |
| Coram Boy (2011) |
| Footsteps (1974) |
| Midnight Express (1978) |
| Mississippi Burning (1988) |
| Our Cissy (1974) |
| Shoot the Moon (1982) |
| The Road to Wellville (1994) |
Trivia
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* Appointed a C.B.E. in 1995 and knighted in the 2002 New Year's Honours List. Now known as Sir Alan Parker. * His sons Alexander Parker and Jake Parker help their father out on a lot of his projects, e.g. composing the score for The Life of David Gale (2003). * Writes the press kit annotations for journalists at advance screenings himself. Has done so since 1981. * He was a founding member of the Directors' Guild of Great Britain and has lectured at film schools around the world. * In an interview for The Road to Wellville (1994), Parker stated that his mission as a filmmaker was to make at least one movie for each genre available. * Has published several collections of film industry-related cartoons, including "Hares in the Gate" (1983). * Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 * Usually, his films end with either the main character dying or end with a depressing down note (see Pink Floyd The Wall (1982), Evita (1996), The Life of David Gale (2003), Angela's Ashes (1999), Mississippi Burning (1988) and Midnight Express (1978)). * Considers Oliver Stone as his strong antagonist since their collaborations on Midnight Express (1978). Parker even declined several times to give him WGA credits for his previous work on Evita (1996), but finally agreed to do so after a long deliberation with WGA's law representatives. * Is friends with director Tony Scott , whom he sponsored to direct The Hunger (1983) for producer Richard Shepard . |
Quotes
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* "I was once described by one of my critics as an aesthetic fascist." * "I'm always afraid someone's going to tap me on the shoulder one day and say, 'Back to North London'". * "Making a film is so hard that if you don't have your main actors going along with the ride with the rest of the crew it can make your life very difficult. Particularly within the Hollywood machine. They've allowed more stars to take over and it can make everyone else's life a misery. But the truth is the actors are doing their job just the same as the camera assistant and the costume designer and everybody else." * "Every time I've been to Cannes, I've made up my mind never to return. Every time my vanity wins over." |
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